The list of the top scorers around the best leagues of Europe, as we approach the midway point of the season, consists of some expected names, along with a few surprising ones. While seeing Lionel Messi chased by Cristiano Ronaldo in Spain, Robin van Persie battling with Luis Suarez in England and Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the charts in France, there are also Michu and Stephan El Shaarawy breaking through.

Spanish La Liga – Lionel Messi, Barcelona, 21 Goals

Not even close, and we’re not halfway through the season. Lionel Messi is setting record after record, now only one goal shy of tying the 85 goal record by Gerd Muller for scores in a calendar year. Messi was on fire over the last 30 days, scoring 8 goals in 5 La Liga matches, all of them in braces vs Mallorca, Zaragoza, Levante and Bilbao.

Chasing him? Cristiano Ronaldo is “only” at 13 goals through the first 14 matches, but he’s the only one with a remote chance of keeping up with Messi’s pace. Radamel Falcao of Atletico Madrid is next with 11 goals.

Unlike Spain, England is probably going to give us quite a race when it comes to the scoring title. Luis Suarez was leading the pack heading into this weekend, but he hasn’t scored a goal in Liverpool’s last three matches, carrying a four game scoring streak into mid-November. Michu is probably the surprising name to see on this list, but the Spaniard has been on fire over the last few weeks, scoring four goals over the last three matches, including twice vs Arsenal this weekend. Robin van Persie has scored in each of United’s last two wins after three consecutive matches without a goal.

Chasers? Jermain Defoe of Tottenham has 9 goals, Marouane Fellaini and Demba Ba are at 8.

German Bundesliga – Five-way tie at 9 goals each

Stefan Kießling of Leverkusen is one of the five players sharing the top spot in Germany at the moment, scoring three times in Leverkusen’s last 7 matches, including last weekend in the win over Nurnberg. Alexander Meier is a surprising name on this list, with the Frankfurt midfielder not really known for topping the charts when it comes to goalscoring. He hasn’t scored in the last three matches. Mario Mandzukic of Bayern has slowed down this month, scoring only once over the last 30 days, with Mario Gomez slowly coming back for his spot in the lineup. Robert Lewandowski of Dortmund only scores in braces, having three of them in the league over the last 30 days. Ádám Szalai of Mainz, an Hungarian striker with an impressive scoring record for the national team, has slowed down this month with only two goals in six matches.

Italian Serie A – Stephan El Shaarawy, AC Milan, 12 Goals

The next big star of Italian football? El Shaarawy has already made three appearances for the national team, scoring once. While mostly coming off the bench last season, this year, he’s taken over the scoring duties left vacant by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He had a busy month, scoring five goals over the last 30 days, including braces in the draw with Napoli and the win over Catania.

French Ligue 1 – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, PSG, 13 Goals

When it comes to his scoring touch, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is doing just fine in France. He has scored 13 goals in 12 matches, but PSG are slipping from their top spot, and maybe Zlatan’s magical championship touch is losing its power. He seems to score at will in France, and it pretty much depends on his mood whether he ends up with a goal or not. His most impressive feats this month weren’t actually in the League, where he scored 3 goals in 3 matches: His 4 assists in the Champions League and four goals for Sweden vs England.

Chasing him are Bafetimbi Gomis of Lyon with 10 goals and Ben Yedder of Toulouse with nine goals so far.